after his murder. police arrest a teener in the death of a local college student. an important meeting, vincent gray is getting ready to talk with school chancellor michelle rhee. wh it could mean for the d.c. public school systems. and a speech heard around the world. president obama addressed the united nations for the second time since taking office. good morning, and welcome to news 4 midday. i'm eun yang in for barbara harrison. news 4 hasearned that police made an arrest in the murder of a catholic university school. he was shot on his bicycle on his way home from work. live now from the newsroom with details. elaine, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun. they took him into custody last night and believe robbery was the motive behind the shooting. it happened just off of shermans

circle off northwest last month. 34-year-old neil galesky was shot last month. friends, co-workers, and neighbors held a candle light vigil to honor him as a well-liked and hard-working person. >> he didn't judge anybody. nice to everybody. a peon would love. anybody would love him. >> reporter: and right now, police aren't saying what led them to this suspect. although he is still a teenager, it's expecd he'll be charged as an adult some time day. now, sources also tell news 4, he is also associated with a gang that operates in the area where that fatal shooting happened. of course, we'll continue to follow the story throughout the day and bring you more details as we get them in. eun, back to you. >> thanks for that update, elaine. today we ould learn the fate of d.c. school's chancellor

michelle rhee. she pparing to meet with vincent gray today. that meeting is scheduled to take place less than an hour from now. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. it's a busyay at the wilson building. just a few seconds ago, u.s. attorney general eric holder entered to actually have a face-to-face discussion with mayoral electincent gray and have a conversation with him. just a nice courtesy being extended there. and then, he moves on to a conversation with chancellor rhee. now, this is the conversation that's not only important to the future of d.c. schools, but it's also one that's being watched nationally. d.c. city council chair vincent gry, the presumptive new d.c. mayor. he has not said whether that push for improvement in d.c. schools willnclude chancellor michelle rhee. rhee who was appointed by mayor adrian fenty is considered by

many the national face of school reform and a feature in a film aboutducation called "waiting for superman." >> you wake up every morning and you know that kids are getting a really crappy education right now. >> reporter: rhee has made a number of controversial decisions gaining supporters and opponents. including the mass firings of hundreds of teachers and principals, the closings of schools and all out reform in everything from how teachers are evaluated to how kids learn, drastically changing what had become the poorest performing schoosystem in the nation. gray and rhee have clashed in the past over some of her decisions. gray says today's meeting is ant the futu. >> there's some days we've done very well together. there are other days by the nature of the process it's been contentious. my conversation with her would be around where are you at this point? i want to hear from her what's important to her with respect to continuing with reform. >> reporter: now, this is just a first-time discussion. we don't know if any absolute

conclusions will be made at the end of the discussion, but they are going to sak with the media after this closed-door meeting. back to you all in the studio. >> thank you. president obama is at the united nations right now. he jt challenged members of the general assembly to support an agreement that would create an independent palestine by this time next year. he urged world leaders to seize e opportunity to promote peace between israel and the palestinians. >> if an agreement is not reache, palestinians will never know the pride and dignity that comes with their own state. israelis will never know the certainty and security that comes with sovereign and stable neighbors who are committed to coexistence. the hard realities of democracy. the hard realities of democracy will take hold. more blood will be shed, this holy land will remain a symbol of our differences instead of our common humanity.

>> president obama is spending the rest of the day in meetings with world leaders and will remain in new york overnight. certain provisions of a health care law went into effect today. health insurance cannot impose lifetime limits or deny children with pre-existing conditions. insurers can no longer deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions as i just mentioned. and some preventive care will no longer require co-payments if your insurancplan year begins january 1st, you have to wait until then for the changes. we're going to take a live look outside right now at 11:05. it is 88 degrees out there already. it warmed up quickly. another summer-like day. 88 degrees. >> didn't i see you at 30 this morning? >> yeah. >> i thought so. it was in the 60s. but we have warmed up quite a bit, 15 or 20 degrees or so. now that 88 you see, that is from a sensor right in the sun it's not quite that hot, actually n the air temperatures.

recorded at national airport it's 82 right now in montgomery, fairfax, prince georges county. it's right around 80 degrees right now, and it has hit the mi80s in central vginia. most of the region, though, is right near 80 degrees as well as around the bay, tide water region and the eastern shore. temperatures there near 80. out of the mountains, it's in the upper 70s to near 80 there, as well. so we uniformly have this mild air from the midwest all through the mid-atlant states. raleigh-durham already at 87, certainly going to exceed 90 there today. we may exceed 90 here again. we'll add to our string of 90-degree days. now, over the last 12 hou, we had just a few clouds drifting through this morning in the wake of those showers we had last evening. now those are long gone. we do have a weak area of high pressure that is in place. that's going to bring us a delightful afternoon. it's really only going to be uncomfortable warm for about another couple of hours or so. by mid-afternoon, it'll begin to

drop back down. and we'll have a mostly sunny afternoon and a light breeze, a variable wind around 5 to 10 miles an hour. we'll take a look at friday and the weekend. changes on the way. and a little uncertainty in the forecast coming intoext week. i'll tell you why, that'll be in a couple of minutes. >> we'll see you soon. thanks so much, tom 6789. let's check on the midday traffic. >> hey, eun, good morning to you, good morning, everyone. lots of road work to talk about. as usual the bulk of it in northern virginia at this point. we'll head on over. here we are at 95 southbound as we make the trip from newington on down. construction takes away the right lane. but if you look very carefully, you can see the hov lanes are configured for the southbound flow. that should help alleviate the delays getting to this point at the work zone. obviously, it is still going to be slow. let's head on over another stretch of the beltway. on the inner loop of the beltway from springfield up towards i-66, very slow through the work

zone. in addition, there had been a broken downehicle in the roadway. that has been moved ov to the shoulder. so right now it's just the work zone, but the broken down car has been cleared. we'll keep you updated. eun? >> thank you so much, jerry. well, you may want to avoid parts of t street in northwest washington right now. crews are working to repair a broken water main in the 1300 block of t street. the street is closed between 13th streets and 14th streets. it's not clear when it will be fixed or when the street will be reopened. family and friends are grieving the loss of a soldier killed in afghanistan. the u.s. military says it was an accident, but the taliban is claiming responsibility. he graduated in 1999, his family lives in silver spring. ni's football coach says he wanted to be a navy seal and he became one. >> in my eyes, and i think in the eyes of our whole community, you know, he's more than just a

hero. we look at him as a superhero. >> luni went to the naval academy and graduated in 2004. he leaves behind a wife. hisamily went to dover yesterday to pick up their loved one's flag-dred casket. aoman accused of hiring to get her son and ex-husband execueto be murdered will be executed tonight. she hired the men to kill her family to collect a $250,000 insurance payment. on tuesda the u.s. supreme court refused to block her execution and virginia governor bob mcdonnell has declined to reque for clemency from her attorneys. still ahead on news 4 midday, the latest on a tagic virginia house fire that killed three people inclung two children. plus, putting an end to drunk driving. the event taking place right now

in washington that's raisi awareness. and expect some big crowd new estimates for how many people will attend the duelling rallies held by man: we ed a sa. something i can stretch out on! woman: ooh... that will go with those lamps my mother gave us.

or wcould get some new lamps. or we could get no sofa. negotiating, eh? you got it! w about a nice home for our tv? how about doorto hide that drive-in theater? how about a cowhide rug? yee-haw! and the snacks? get their owplace. let the marathon begin!

we hope to learn more about the to homeire that killed a mother and two of her children. three kids are also recovering after escaping the deadly house fire in virginia. witnesses say their mother tried

desperately to save them all. the woman's brother lived with the he helped them out. >> i talked to them and th told me they jumped out the window and the mom threw the baby out the window to the uncle. >> a neighbor says the fire could've started with candles. she says she went to the mother to buy candles because their electricity was cut off. the cause of the fire remains under investigation. > prosecutors in the chandra leavy case cannot use damaging statements used by the man who is accused of killing h. he told investigators that sometimes he can't control himself when he sees meone alone witsomething of value. the washington judge says there is no compelling need for prosecutors to use those remarks. her by was found in 2002. he pled not guilty to first-degree murder. the acronym is a perfect description of the group's feeling.

m.a.d.d. mothers against drunk driving turns 30 this year. and the group continues to push for lawmakers to help put an end to drunk driving. >> we will put an end to drunk driving once and for all. >> rorter: it began with a mother outraged by the loss of her daughter at the hands of a drunk driving. but over the last three decades, madd, mothers against drunk driving has grown to include not just mothers, but fathers, sons, daughters, and more. all are dedicated to end the problem of drunk driving. among them, 14-year-old hollywood rook who was injured in an accident at age 5. >> now i speak to like high schools and colleges about making smart decisions. >> reporter: this is the 30t anniversary of madd. and while much progress has been made, the statistics are still distu disturng. almost every minute a person is injured in an alcohol-related crash, one in three people will

be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime. to bring those numbers down, madd is calling on congress to ss legislation that would encourage more states to require ignition lock breathalyzers for repeat offender the bills would also provide money for research into less invasive technologies that would prevent a car from starting if the driver is over the limit. >> the advance technology is not an interlock. it will be passive, it'll be much like your air bag. you won't know it's there until you need it. but if yoare above a .08, the illegal limit, your car will not start. >> reporter: while not the silver bullet, madd believes the technology could be key. the isurance substituinstitute highway safetystimates that it could save as many as 9,000 lives a year. for capitol hill, megan mcgrath, news 4. we have an update on a story that prompted dozens of you to call and e-mail our newsroom. introced you to elouisa

diaz. she was thousands behind on her rent. she admitted she could not keep up because of sporadic work, so the owner had no choice but to evict her. a judge approved the eviction last week after a year of court battles. all of her belongings were put out on the street and she had a lot of things. in fact, it stretched for blocks. after her story aired, we had an outpouring support. they moved her stuff to storage for free. she even received several job offers and several offers for places to stay. now to the forecast, it heated up quickly. >> now we're getting into the discomfort zone. it's been comfortablthroughout the morning. but it is getting unusually warm and uncomfortably so here right now and for the next couple of hours. there is that hazy summer-like sky here late september. live view, american university in the foreground. often the middle stance, t

pacades. national airport where so far this year we've counted 64 days counting yesterday's temperature into the mid-90s. 90 degrees or higher. today willikely be number 65, the all-time record, 67 set back in 1980. well, we have temperatures already now above 80 around most the region. low 80s around the shenandoah valley, the blue ridge, much of virginia, the district of columbia, and most of maryland. there's a wind off the waterin annapolis, a bit cooler. but elsewhere, most locations near 80. and down through central virginia and the carolinas, it's a little bit hotter off in the mountains, western maryland west virginia, the upper 70s there. over the last 12 hours, we had those evening thunderstormnow way off and really diminishing out over the atlantic. we've got a weak area of high pressure giving us now the sunny sky. this high pressure is going to slowly drift off the atlantic sea board. now, we do have a tropical

depression -- it was a tropical storm yesterday, but it's actually weakened a bit. but it may increase a bit in strength. but stay out in the open waters of the atlantic. but this is a potential developing storm. it will be named matthew if it does get developed. butalready seeing big clusters of thunderstorms here in the southern caribbean. and itay be tracking off to the west-northwest for the next number of days, but then next week, it could come up our way. depending how the track goes, we won't be affected by it. if it comes farther inland, we could get much-needed rain. that's the uncertainty and extended outlook. as we look over the last 12 hours in the wider view, they are getting rain in the upper midwest. that front is going to be drifting down our way. by the time it gets here, much of that moisture will be gone, associated with low pressure moving up across southern canada. this high pressure will me off the coast later today. but keep us in a southwesterly flow here. so another unusually warm day tomorrow. then this front will begin to approach the mountains by tomorrow evening. and then on saturday morning,

it'll come through, but it looks like most of the moisture will have rained out. so it's jst going to come through dry quite likely. behind that, we'll have winds shifting into the north and west. and that should cool things down and we should probably see the st of the 90s. highly unlikely we're going to see 90s into october. and certainly with the pattern that's setting up next week. here's how we're looking for this thursday. one more day with this uncomfortable heat. low to perhaps mid-90s in a few other locations. quite a bit of sunshine and a light breeze. then overnight tonit, we'll have that just passed full moon up. then bottom out near 70 near dawn tomorrow. sunset tomorrow at 7:04. our sunrises getting later and later this time of year. and tomorrow, lower humidity quite likely. we'll have highs reaching the low to mid-90s by mid afternoon. and then as we get into friday night and saturday, we'll have that front approaching with a few clouds, but then ought to clear up byaturday afternoon.

and that northwest breeze should cool things down. although, it may still make it intohe low to mid-80s saturday afternoon. and muchooler on sunday. we'll see our winds shifting into the north and northeast, and that will bring in some clouds and cooler temperatures. 50s in the morning sunday, aftnoon highs mid-70s. small chance of a few sprinkles around on sunday and monday. but then depending on what that system does, we could have clouds around midwk next week, or maybe some tropical downpo s downpours. certainly it's important for you to stay tuned. we'll let you know what's going to be happening. that's the way it looks right now. we'll be in the 70s next week. >> nice change. thank you, tom. bk to jerry edwards for a check on the midday traffic. >> good morning, everyone. a little hardo tell from this camera, but i wanted to tell you about an accident that was a pretty serious one. montgomery county near crabs branch way. and you know it's east of route 355. the westbound side had been closed off for some time. and the last eport, nobody was getting by.

and that would be coming from south lawn trying to get over to rockville pike. eastbound, travel lanes are over, but fire equipment had been on the scene for quite some time with a serious crash out there. elsewhere, we'll head on over and tell you about some road work. inbound side of south capitol street, it is the right lane taken away. a little bit of a delay because the rush hour didn't really clear out 0% before the construction went up. so it is going to be a bit slow, eventually only one lane getting by inbound on the dglas bridge. >> jerry, thank you. 11:21 is your time. still ahead, changes for mro. the new path and walkways many riders will see come mony morning. and -- nbc's thursday night comedy block is back. we'll have a sneak preview after the bre. but first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com. "kw the species, know the stain." lanolin-free coat, i know it's an alpaca. walks in here, looks says "hey look, it's a llama!" cleaning t stain like he would a llama stain. time he's wasting. ♪ call 1-800-steeme

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capital one bank. they're everywhere. ♪ yeah, you're right! [ horns honking ] hey, there's one right uthe street. [ male announcer ] capital one bank. the most branches and atms in the dc area. what's in your wallet? ove, go long! do you want to restore sanity? or perhaps do you want to keep fear alive? if so, on either count, you are definitely not alone. the nional park service now expects 60000 people to attend john stewart's rally to restore sanity and stephen colbert's rival "march to keep fear alive." that's more than twice the estimates.

they amended the number of their peit application. that permit has not been approved yet. and t park says no deadline has been set for finalizing it. you won't have to wait until those rallies for some big laughs, thoh. tonight is the season premiere of nbc thursday's comedy lineup. >> what is it exactly that separates man from animal? >> divorce. >> reporter: the season premiere of "community" shows a side of betty white we haven't seen befo. >> her character is the sweetest, most dangerous person on our campus. >> reporter: she's also the greendale gang's new anthropology teacher. and talk about teaching a lesson. >> i respect you. >> i hope your children never have to take class from her because she's a little weird. >> reporter: it's almost as weird as seeing jack don donaghy with a beard.

>> he's such a nice guy, easy going to have around, you almost forget he's a giant movie star. >> that's as clear as i can make it. >> reporter: season seven of "the office" marks the start of steve carrell's long good-bye. >> everyone's psyched. >> reporter: well, if it's not quite the right word -- maybe gleeful might be more appropriate. >> so you're saying going to india or i'm out of a job? >> reporter: new to the thursday lineup is the comedy "outsource" about a trainee sent overseas to run a novelty call center. >>eople think that the gap between east and west is really far apart, but really, it's very small. >> reporter: and if outsource gets the laughs -- >> what is it, cheese head? >> reporter: it'll be right at home in the thursday lineup. >> well, thursday night isn't all about comedy. the second installment of the new season of "the apprentice" airs tonight, as well. tune in.

11:27 is your time now. 83degrees. still ahead on midday, the building of a new road is getting to be too much for drivers in maryland. the construction project some say is turning into a nightmare. plus, what if schools got rid o grade levels and just grouped kids based on their abilities? the school that is doing just that tells us if it's working. and it's all the first full day of fall. tom's got your forecast after the break.

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right now on news 4 midday, d.c.'sschool chancellor michelle rhee could learn today whether vincent gray wants to keep her in her job. and he could learn whether she even wants to stay. they're expected to meet within the hourt the wilson building. gray has criticized rhee in the past, slamming her for firing teachers and closing schools. we hope to learn more about a fire that killed a mother and her two children. three kids are recovering after escaping a deadly house fire in virginia. witnesses sa their mother tried desperately to save them all. the woman's brother lived with them. he survived and helped the kids escape. president obama just finished speaking to the united nations general assembly. he urged members to push pass cynicism and pessimism and seize this opportunity to promote peaceetween israel and the palestinians. the president will spend the

rest of the day in meetings with world leaders. major provisions ofhe health care law begins today. the patients bill of rights passed congress back in march. now six months later, some of the changes could affct your insurance coverage. while the provisions are just getting started, some lawmakers say they may not last long. nbc's tracie potts has details. >> now i can focus on my health instead of focusing on how am i going to pay to get better. >> reporter: starting today, health insurers can no longer impose lifetime limits or deny children with pre-existing conditions. prevente care, check-ups, must be covered. >> that should save us all a lot of money. >> reporter: and adults can stay on their parents' insurance until they're 26 years old. >> they're designed to make sure that you have basic protections in your interactions with your insurance company. that you're getting what you paid for. >> republicans say it's not that

simple. >> premiums may go down slightly. however, co-payments and deductibles will go up. access to care goes down because you've got more peop and fewer doctors seeing patients. >> reporter: republicans are vowing to repeal health reform as part of a 21-page pledge to amica they'll announce today. it incles tax cuts for everyone, including the rich, business tax breaks, ending bailos, cutting government spending back to 2008 levels, tough border patrols, and fully funding missile defense. the party hopes that'll be a winning agenda in november. tracie potts, nbc news, waington. >> republicans unveiled that pledge to america this morning in sterling, virginia. as tracie mentioned, it stretches beyond health care. the administration also pledges to cut taxes and spending. the pledge to ameca also calls for a ban on federal funding for

abortion. disturbing news this morning about the threat terror groups are posing to the united states. three of the country's top counterterrorism officials told a senate committee that the threat from al qaeda and other groups has grown more complex. national counterterrorism center director, homeland security secretary janet napolitano told the commitee that al qada has inspired other groups, including home grown terrorists. they warn that terrorism groups are also hoping to recruit americans and other westerners who can fly under the rar. they pointed to recent incidents including the attempted time square bombing earlier this year. if you takeetro to the pentagon, you can expect some changes to the security procedures at that station next week. starting monday, you'll have to deal with a new pedestrian traffic pattern near the pentagon's main visitor entrance. employee check points will be farther away from the building for most of the day on wkdays.

there will be signs alerting commuters to the changes. the changes are in response to a shooting earlier this year that wounded two security guards and the gunman -- left the gunman dead. it's now 11:34, let's check in once again with meteorologist t m. >> there's a live view from our sky watcher camera. high-rises in northwest washington in the foreground. and in the middle distance is where the potomac river cuts through. and off on the horizon is arlington and falls church in virginia. where the temperatures rig now are in the low 80s, low 80s in washington, montgomery, prince georges county, fairfax counti, as wel. in the low 80s, as well. a bit cooler there off the bay. winds picking up a little bit there near annapolis. it's down to 75 there. t elsewhere, we're generally in the 80s througut most of the region. over the last 12 hours, the remnants of those overnight thundershowers pulling off the east of the atlantic sea board

have dissipated. and we'vegot weak high pressure in place now giving us this sunshine. and we will have southwesterly breeze that will be off and on here today and then be a little more persistent tomorro so it's going to stay unusually warm here for this afternoon and into tomorrow afternoon, as well. but not the entire period. it will be just uncomfortably warm for a few hos. mid afternoon both today and again tomorrow. and then on saturday, a northwesterlyreeze by the afternoon should bring in some cooler weatr by saturday afternoon and evening. in fact, by sunday morning, we'll be down into the mid-50s. and with an easterly flow on sunday, looks like we'll have clouds around with highs in the mid-70s. there's a small chance of a passing shower on sunday, maybe a few sprinkles as well as monday. but then next we and midweek, we might be affected by a tropical system coming up from the caribbean depending on how it tracks, depending on whether or not we'll get any rain. stay tun, we'll keep you posted. >> still need that rain, tom? >> we sure do. let's get a check on midday traffic. jerry edwards joins us with the

latest. are things clearing up? >> as far as the rush hour, yes, finally, fortunately. may be a little bit slow coming from maryland down towards the american legion bridge and beyond. look out for the construction. outer loop where the left side of the roadway is blocked. there is if you look carefully, a little bit of delay getting through t work zone. but all in all very manageable. the inner loop of the beltway moving along quite nicely. in and out of theistrict northeast, road work continues. northbound and southbound as you travel in two locations, actually. right around eastern avenue here and agaiat pennsylvania. a couple of minutes of extra travel time, good idea. are you one of the thousands of area drive who spend hours sitting in backups on i-66 even when it's nowhere near rush hour? we may have good news for you. transportation officials are thinking of opening shoulder lanes more often. those lanes are ope during rush hour now, but traffic is often just as bad during f-peak

hours. officials arealso considering the idea of high occupancy toll lanes or hot lanes as well as a new rail line to ease congestion. news 4 has another traffic alert to pass along to drivers taking i-270 in the gaithersburg area overnight. they will shut down the southbound side south of it 10. the lanes will be closed for two 15-minute intervals between midnight and 4:00 a.m. crews need to install a sign for the iner county connecter project. this may be a temporary inconvenience for drivers, but people who live nearby say they've dealt with construction headaches for a year now. >> it's been living like in a -- with constant, constant noise in the house, and the house shakes and all the windows rattle. >> the icc is a $2 billion toll road that will ultimately stretch 18 miles. will connect i-270 in gaithersburg i-95 in laurel.

there's progress on a new purple line. montgomery county leaders will see the designs for a new metro station. the new southern entrance would le to the purple line. that would connect the bethesda and new carolton stations. leaders will also see new designs for the crescent trail in downtown bethesda. news 4 is joining nbc for a new series we call education nation. every day we'll focus on the nation's schools, instruction, and education reform. today we loo at a denver school that's decided to get rid of grade levels and instead group children together based on their abilities. nbc's nelson garcia takes a look at how students and teachers feel about the program's one year. >> reporter: students like hailey sharp hve been learning under a system that groups kids by ability instead of age. >> i was worried. u know, was a fifth grader

going to be upset because there was a third grader sitting next to them? >> reporter: one year after implementing a standards-based system. >> i see children that are not bored -- >> reporter: teachers say it's working. >> they didn't unrstand why everybody else in the room knew it and they didn't. >> it's better because just because i'm not left behind. and no matter what, i'm -- i'm doing what i can do at my own pace. >> there's been more improvement every day. >> reporter: hailey's grandfather was skeptical at first. >> but with this program, i've seen a lot of push for my grandchildren and their friends. >> repoer: with the implementation of this major change, districteaders expected to see some ups and downs, including the results. this year's test scores were actually lower tan the previous year's, but they expect to see those results to swing back around. >> well, we focused primarily on filling students' learning gaps.

>> reporter: he expects the scores to jump in three to five years. >> did he know what was going to happen? >> reporter: once teachers fill the learning holes that many students had under the old system. >> the students are much more engaged in their own learning. they've taken a bigger ownership of their learning this year. >> reporter: and a better understandingf a school without grade levels. >> and that was david garcia reporting. and appareny the new no-grade system is catching on. five schools in kansas city have adopted the new system after seeing the success of the denver school dtrict. new this midday, the fda has just ruled that the diabetes pill avandia is okay to stay on the market. the "british medical journal" called for an investigation because it said the risks for heart trouble of people taking the drug outweighed the befits. the drug maker glaxosmithkline denied those allations.

itwas determined the drug is safe. an alert to parents. there is a recall involving 5 million cans of baby formula because beetles and larva were found in cans. there are two types of faormula involved. similac in plastic contains. no liquid formula is involved. the fda says there iso immediate health risk, but infants who drink the affected formula could get stomach aches. parents who want to know if they have the recall packages can call or go to similac.com. it's now 11:41, 83 degrees. still ahead, trouble for a popular movie rental chain. starbucks is raising the prices of some of itsdrinks. find out if

man: we need a sofa. something i can stretch out on! woman: ooh... that will go with those lamps my mother gave us. or we could get some new lamps. or we could get no sofa. negotiating, eh? you got it! how about a nice home for our tv? how about doors to hide that drive-in theater? how about a cowhide rug? yee-haw! and the snacks? get their own place. let the marathon begin!

blockbuster has officially filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. the pre-arranged deal with bondholders will slash the mpany's debt by about $900 million. the chain has been struggling recently to keep up with other convenient rental companies such as netflix a redbox. earlier this year, blockbusters closed about 10% of its stores. the remaining 3,000 u.s. stores will remain open. you know who can afford the higher prices at starbucks? bill gates, the microsoft ceo tops forbes' richst americans list for the 17th year in a row.

he's worth estimated $54 billion, up $4 billion from last year. in second is warren buffett, mark zuckerburg tripled his fortune to just about $7 billion. and he's numbe35 on the list not bad. time to get a check on today's business news. let's check in with cnbc's courtney reagan. >> i was impressed with zuckerburg, he meet murdoch, which is amazing. he was three higher than rupert murdoch. amazing movers. >> he's so young. >> two other facebook notables are on there too. lower in the 100s and 200s, but still pretty impressive wi iviv young guys with a good idea. we started the day on the dow lower. we didn't get such a great jobless claims data report which we'll go through in a minute. but our housing report today boosted us up a little bit.

d we're seei investors really buying into gold. it's continuing. gold getting closer to that $1,300 an ounce mark. gold thought of that feared trade whe people are a little uncertain about what to do in the stock market. they're going into gold. now, most asian markets are closed for today because of the autumnal equinox. the first-time claims for jobless benefitsid rise to 465,000 last week fm 453,000 the prior week. it was our first increase in five weeks. but existing home sales were up 7.6%, prices, though, down 2.5%. and gm repoedly plans to sell a majority of the sharein the upcoming ipo to u.s. investors. the company's going to set a low share price in the $20 to $25 range thugh a stock split. that's kind of a common move to be able to attract more retail investors. because without a split, the government says gm would have to price shares at $134 apce for

taxpayers to recoup their $40 billion bailout of the automaker. everybody goes to starbucks, whave to let you know that starbucks plans to raise prices on larger and more labor-intensive drinks to offt the costs of coffee and other ommodities. so there is a reason for this. starbucks will hold or lower prices, though, on espresso and tall-sized drinks. coffee prices are flirting with 13-year highs. starbucks isn't the only one having to adjust. other mass market sellers like folger'shave already hiked their prices. i just get excited for the special flavors. the pumpkin spice latte. >> it's so much fun -- >> it is. it's like a special treat. >> we're going to have to cut down on how many times we go, courtney. >> exactly. >> thanks so much. well, today's wednesday's child is a special 12-year-old who is hoping to find a permanent home. ashley is bright and creative and loves to sing. news 4's barbaraarrison helped

her do what she loves most. >> oh, my god. >> ashley, how are you? >> i'm great. >> i'm so glad t me you. >> i'm glad to meet you too. you're on nbc. it's awesome! >> reporter: ashley told u she likes to sing. so weuggested spending time together at a very popular place for kids to take music lessons. >> good to see you. >> how are you doing? >> great. >> reporter: the director of bach to rock welcomed us. >> we're gog to have a great time today. >> reporter: at 12 years old, ashley was more than just excited about being here. >> have you ever had voice lessons before? >> no. >> not at all? >> never in my life. >> reporter: ashley said she was ready for her first lesson. karlie said they would start with a warm-up. >> well, ashley's been in foster care for thelast eight years. and she came in itially due to

abuse. she's unfortunately had several moves, but she's a resilient young lady. she's very energetic. she enjoys singing, dancing, and performance art. >> reporter: ashley proved to be a terrific student. >> she does very well in school. she's a straight-a student. >> what would you like to be when you grow up? >> i do many things. >> reporter: tl me some of them. >> a poet, a dancer, a singer, and a lawyer. > unfortunately for ashley, she's had several disruptions in her life. she's ready, she's committed to finding a family that's going to love her f who she is. >> i would love to have a famil that loved me and cared for me and would love me for who i am. >> reporter: the folks at bach to rock had surprises for ashley. >> also in here is three months of free lessons with us here. >> wow, congratulations. >> thank you.

>> reporter: barbara harrison, news 4, for wednesday's child. >> if you ha room in your home and your heart for asey or any of our wednesday's children, please call our adoption hot line 1-88-2-adopt-me or visit nbcwashington.com. 11:50 is our time now. it is 84 degrees. still ahead, do you love a great book? well, you're in uck. details about the tenth national annual book festival in town this weekend. plus meteorologist

time once again to check out the weekend scene. hi, always nice to see you. >> great to be here. >> it's a big weekend for readers. the national book festival. i love this event. it's something for everyone. >> it is a major event right on the mall. and it's also the one ti of the year i think authors are really treated like rock stars here in washington. >> exactly. >> it's happening this saturday on the mall. and it's going to bring all kinds of authors from jonathan franz who has a best sller right now. another best seller and all the way down to the former first lady laura bush. lots of children's authors. and is just something for everyone. and it happens at 10:00 a.m. through 5:30 p.m. this saturday. it's completely free. should be a lot of fun. >> well, i'm going toe there.

i'm introducing brian. and speaking of books, let's talk about politics and prose. >> it's been a magnet for musicians friday nights in the cafe right downstairs, they have been hosting open mikes. and it really attracts a crowd from around the area. people who are just trying to try out a song or cut their teeth performing in front of people. it's so much fun. it's entirely free. and if you wanted to sort of break out the guitar from the garage and try it yourself, get there by around 7:30 to sign up d the performances start at 8:00. >> and wean say we knew you when. and finally nbcwashington.com is checking out an asian art takeover? this is interesting. >> that's right. the asian art lleries a few times a year have been doing this great happy hour with lots of bells and whistles. they invite everyone to come in, have a cocktail, stay unl late, until about 9:30 at night.

and they're also bringing in a great band this time around. and they're a pop band. and also got deejays. it's a lot of fun and it's not that expensive. it's $20 at the door tonight at 6:30 p.m. and it includes a cocktail. >> and this is the museum? is that the open of -- and will there be artwork, as well? >> you can see the xhibit. and the fun part is they have this great courtyard and it's a chance to get in some of the summer weather. >> and the evening will be so nice. thanks so much, as always. and for more ideas for your weekend, just log into the around town section of cwashington.com or the going out guy on washingtonpost.co all right. let's take a look at some of the stories we are following on news 4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse with a preview of things to come. >> hi, eun, good morning. coming up this afternoon at "news 4 at 4:00," we'll tell you what's being said today llowing the meeting between

d.c. mayoral nominee vincent gray and school chancellor michelle rhee. also at 4:00 this afternoon, caring for an aging relative can be very difficult. we'll have some expert advice for you on how to handle what can be a daunting task. then tonight at 5:00, too sexy for sesame street? why the show decided to pull a skit featuring pop star katy perry from the air waes. hose stories plus your first forecast starting on "news 4 at 4:00." >> we'll see you then. pat, thanks so much. time now for a final check of our forecast. meteorologist tom kierein joins us right now. >> well, looks and feels like summer time on this first full day of astronomical autumn. there is wasngton off in the distance. a summer-like haze as we approach the noon hour. right now, temperatures have climbed into the 80s throughout most of the region and will peak in the low and mid-90s by mid afternoon, due to weak and high pressure. due to sunshine and a weak southwesterly flow that's tapping in heat from the south land and bringing it all the way

up here. and we'll have afternoon highs, again, tomorrow into the mid-90s. but probably not as much humidity. it doesn't last more than a few hours the uncomfortable heat. otherwise a pleasant pattern. and a bit cooler on saturday with a northwesterly breeze and clouds around on sunday. nd it'll be cooler with highs in the 70s, small chance of a shower. we might get sme showers next week depending onow a tropical system tracks toward our region from the south. we'll keep you posted. >> thanks so much, tom. >> okay. all right. at one new york city clothing store, the merchandise was 100% off. and its customer clothi were about 90% off as you can see. they must have been big fans of the spanish brand because they waited in line -- they waited in line in nothing but their undies for a free suit. everyone else can get the clothes -- the designer clothes for 50% off for the restf the day even if their attire is 100%

on. things ople do for a freebie. >> they're not going to hold that event in december. >> no, good time to do it. thanks for joining us for news 4 midday. but sure to tune in for all of today's news. i'll be back tomorrow bright and early at 4:30. we'll see you then.